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Tag: Gaddafi

  • Adeshina blasts Nigerians for ‘twisting’ Buhari’s comments on Gaddafi

    Presidential spokesman Femi Adesina has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s comments on former Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, on the killings by herdsmen in Nigeria were misinterpreted to score cheap political goals.

    Buhari had on Wednesday in London told Archbishop Justin Welby that the farmers/herdsmen clashes were made worse by the influx of armed gunmen from the Sahel region in Nigeria and other parts of West African sub-region.

    The president was quoted at the meeting as saying: “The problem is even older than us. It has always been there, but now made worse by the influx of armed gunmen from the Sahel region into different parts of the West African sub-region. These gunmen were trained and armed by Muammar Gadaffi of Libya.

    “When he was killed, the gunmen escaped with their arms. We encountered some of them fighting with Boko Haram. Herdsmen that we used to know carried only sticks and maybe a cutlass to clear the way, but these ones now carry sophisticated weapons.

    “The problem is not religious, but sociological and economic. But we are working on solutions.’’

    The presidential aide, however, claimed the social media and some traditional media outfits misinterpreted the comments for political reasons.

    He said: “Since President Muhammadu Buhari met with the Archbishop of Canterbury in London on Wednesday, and spoke on the likely impact of gunmen trained by former Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, on the killings by herdsmen in Nigeria, some people have virtually flown off the handle, ululating as if wailing was going out of fashion.

    “They twisted the meaning of Mr President’s words (yes, some people twist everything, even the words of God; 2 Peter: 3, 15,16). They claimed he was blaming Gaddafi, long dead, for the killings in Nigeria.

    “But let’s see the vacuousness and intellectual laziness in the twist they have given what President Buhari said, out of sheer malice and evil hearts. Sadly, even a Senator was involved in the sickening display of poisonous heart.

    “That’s what you get when small minds get into high places.’’

  • Admit your failure, stop blaming Gaddafi for Nigeria’s security challenges – PDP tells Buhari

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Thursday, told President Muhammadu Buhari to admit that he has failed in his promise to end insurgency in the country, instead of blaming late Muammar Gaddafi of Lybia.

    Kola Ologbodinya, spokesman of the party in a statement said “For Buhari to have ran to Archbishop Justin Welby to declare that the insurgents and marauders pillaging the people are fighters from late Muammah Gadaffi’s Libya, confirmed the position of Nigerians that President Buhari was incapable of handling the security challenges of our nation”.

    PDP also recalled that “in November 2017, President Buhari had informed the Nigerian community in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire that Gadaffi’s fighters were responsible for the escalation of Boko Haram insurgency.

    “This time, Mr President has revealed that the killer-herdsmen ravaging our nation and killing our people are from Libya”.

    The opposition party wondered, “If the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government knew all these that the marauders and insurgents are invaders, why is he engaging them in dialogue, reportedly paying ransoms and even considering the amnesty option for them.”

    The PDP further asked Nigerians to demand explanations from President Buhari on why his administration has been asking the victims of marauders’ attacks in various states, particularly, Benue, Taraba, Kogi, Nasarawa, Zamfara, Plateau, among others, to learn to accommodate, if it knows that the attackers had links with Libya.

    “Our take remains that President Buhari and his dysfunctional APC should simply admit that they have failed to safeguard the lives of our people as well as the territorial integrity of our nation”.

    “We therefore urge Nigerians to continue to be at alert and support one another in this trying time, irrespective of ethnicity, creed or class, as we collectively work to salvage our nation from the misrule of the incompetent APC, come 2019”, the party said.

  • Learn from fall of Mugabe, Idi Amin, Gaddafi, others – Methodist Prelate warns Nigerian politicians

    The Prelate of the Methodist Church, Dr Samuel Kanu-Uche on Monday advised politicians in the country to behave themselves and learn from the fall of Robbert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and other sit-tight leaders.

    Kanu-Uche also advised politicians who think they could rig themselves into elected positions to know that Nigerians were now wiser.

    The prelate gave the advice at a news conference on Monday after what he called an “Apostolic Tour’’ of the Church’s Arch Dioceses in the FCT, as well as Minna and Lokoja.

    “Our leaders should learn from the fall of Sadam Hussein, Gadaffi , Idi Amin and Robbert Mugabe.

    “Our politicians are not learning. They should not think they are powerful. Power belongs to God. If they think they are powerful, God has a way of dealing with them,’’ he said.

    He decried a situation where some elected politicians earn as much as N13.5 million as monthly allowance, while the masses were suffering.

    On security, Kanu-Uche noted that it remain a challenge, especially the recurring herdsmen/farmers clashes in a number of states.

    “The people you call herdsmen now were not the ones we knew when we were younger in the 60s.

    “Herdsmen live in our villages, they used their staff and control thousands of cattle and we relate well with them, there was no shooting, but now they use gun.

    “I understand that the guns are issued to them by politicians,’’ he said and called on the president to fish out those arming the herdsmen and make face the law.

    He urged Nigerians to embrace one and another and live in peace irrespective of religious and political leanings.

    “God did not make a mistake in bringing us together.

    “We want a united country, where there is peace, harmony, justice, equity and rule of law.

    “We do not want a religious country. We should co-habit and co-exist in love.’’

    The prelate commended President Muhammadu Buhari for not abandoning projects initiated by the past administration.

    “I commend the government in power for not abandoning any projects initiated by the former government.

    “You know the Jonathan government initiated the railway project and this government has continued with that.

    “It is being magnanimous in victory. Roads are being constructed massively and simultaneously,’’ Kanu-Uche added.

  • Gaddafi’s second son to declare interest for Libyan presidency

    Saif Gaddafi, the second son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will announce in coming days his intention to run for president of Libya, the family’s spokesman, Basem Hashimi Soul, told Sputnik Monday.

    On Wednesday, the Libyan Government of National Accord’s (GNA) foreign minister, Mohamed Siala, said that presidential election in Libya might be held in mid-2018.

    “Saif will soon announce the nomination of his own candidacy for the election in Libya, this is already a settled issue, no discussions about this are being conducted.

    “He will announce this on TV and all the media. He will decide on the date of the announcement in the next few days,” the spokesman said.

    TheNewsGuru reports the civil war’s aftermath and proliferation of armed groups led to violence and instability across the country, which erupted into renewed civil war in 2014.

    The ongoing crisis in Libya has so far resulted in tens of thousands of casualties since the onset of violence in early 2011.